Summary

Under contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of Cultural Resource Management (OCRM), Department of Anthropology, Arizona State University, completed an archaeological survey of Reach 2. Reach 2 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct extends about 18 miles from the Bouse Hills east to Highway 72, near Vicksburg.

Following the survey, OCRM archaeologists conducted archaeological investigations at four sites located along Reach 2 to mitigate the adverse effects of disturbance in the project area. Archaeological investigations consisted of surface collection, mapping, and excavation.

This project presents the survey and mitigation reports that describe the results of archaeological work within Reach 2 of the Granite Reef Aqueduct. The investigations identified a pattern of secondary resource zone exploitation in the desert areas between the river valleys. Researchers defined and described a secondary resource zone as an area which did not support a permanent population, but was utilized intermittently, probably on a seasonal basis, in the exploitation of wild plant and animal food resources by people whose primary subsistence was derived from a different zone.